Altruism or selflessness in its most simple definition concerns the principle of being constructive without any self-interest. A categorical classification can me made according to different types of altruism.
- kin-based/nepotistic altruism based on affinity, like standing up for friends and family.
- reciprocal altruism which is not about affinity, but the principle of doing something back for someone 'you owe it to'.
- strong reciprocity concerns standing up for people belonging to the same group.
It seems that this is not only a human quality; it also occurs in animals, particularly animals living in social groups. However, when animals show altruistic behavior, it will always positively affect their lives. Animals with qualities resulting in negative actions will eventually die and will no longer exist in fauna.
Take a look at this touching video: what's the reason for this dog to save another dog's life by risking its own life?
Altruism also occurs in vampire bats. These animals are awake at night, when they go out to feed themselves with blood. A vampire bat needs the blood every 3 to 4 days to live, otherwise they'll die. When a bat doesn't succeed to find blood, another bat throws up a part of its blood in order to increase the chance of survival for the other bat, while decreasing its own chance to stay alive.
Last but not least morality appears in monkeys. This video shows a capuchin monkey helping another capuchin monkey, where at the end it gets a reward.
It is clear that altruism is not only a quality of human beings, but also occurs in animals. Now what do you do when a homeless asks for food or money? Does altruism show or are you overcome with selfishness?
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten